As the seasons change and the sun rises later, the problem of headlights being too bright for me rears its ugly head again.
Over the past few decades, you may have noticed this as well. The new cars being produced have headlights that are so dazzling, even on the lowest setting, you feel like applying sunscreen.
If you pair that with cars and trucks having a higher stance, and you get issues that can turn downright dangerous.
When I drive to work, it is still dark out, even in the summer months. It really isn’t too much of an issue because I am up before the real traffic starts. However, driving the lower-to-the-ground cars I own, some of these oncoming headlights are nearly eye level, which white-outs where my car is pointed.
I don’t think I am alone in this, as I have seen people post about the same problem on social media. On top of headlight assemblies being placed higher, the bulbs used are now on a whole different level.
The old incandescent and halogen filled bulbs are a thing of the past, now replaced with high performance LED units. These lights are more powerful and whiter than the bulbs I grew up with.
While I am thrilled at the advancement in technology, my retinas are less so.
This also appears to be a unique problem to the United States. Europe and other countries have adopted regulations against dazzling lights and have much stiffer requirements.
This has led to “adaptive headlights” being used across the pond. These headlights will block light with shutters or use a “matrix” of LEDs that can dim certain parts of the light when the car senses oncoming traffic. Carmakers have spent a lot of coin making this system work. The only problem is these systems are not legal for cars in the United States. It is the fault of politicians, as usual.
These headlight systems called “adapted driving beams” have been mandatory in Europe since 2012 and they work very well. In 2022, a bipartisan bill was introduced allowing the use of adapted driving beam headlights in cars sold in the United States.
Yet, to this date, no cars use the system outlined in the regulations in the bill because the regulations are too strict. Car manufacturers would have to design this system again for sale here which again takes a lot of resources from other emerging technologies such as self-driving and electric vehicles.
In 2018, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety had warned the National Highway Traffic Safety Board from passing regulations that did not match the ones used in Europe. These suggestions were ignored and now we are stuck with the system we have.
One of the more maddening aspects of this is many cars on the road already have all the equipment for these systems installed. It would take nothing more than a software update to the car to make these headlights work much better and safer.
Outside of the bureaucratic red tape, many vehicles on the road have misaligned headlights. Only 10 states in the United States require inspections that test for headlight alignment.
Also, most people do not check this after modifying their vehicles, such as installing vehicle lifts or larger tires. Pair that with aftermarket lighting systems that are unregulated by anyone at all, and you can create a dangerous situation for other drivers on the road.
All of this reminds me, I need a new pair of sunglasses for my 5:30 a.m. ride to work.
As for me, I will see you on the road! Maybe.
